Laura Almo, film, video and photo instructor

Q: Is this your first time at EC?

A: “This is my first semester as a full-time but I have been part-time for nine years. I was teaching a Film Analysis class here last semester and a Documentary production class at California State (University of) Long Beach.”

Q:What is your focus in teaching?

A: “For film analysis, I really try to pass on just the basic skills that you need to succeed in any class. For my production classes, how to keep organized because that will allow more creativity. I also like to show them what it’s like in the real world, in terms of what the director editor relationship class will be like. Editing is a lot more than operating software, you’re a story teller and I try to empower (students) those skills as a story teller.”

Argelia Andrade, Spanish instructor

Q: What made you choose EC?

A: “This is home. I’m from here. I grew up in the city of Gardena. My dream was always to come work here. It was just a matter of time.”

Q: Do you have any personal connections with EC?

A: “My dad came to school here back in the day. He went through the ESL program and at the time he did accounting and was part of a real estate program that they had for the community.”

Q: What is your focus in teaching?

A: “I would like my students to be aware of how much control they have over their education. They have more control than they think.”

Q: You are the founder of Nuestras Raices, can you tell me a little bit about that?

A: “In 1996, the summer before I went to UCLA as an undergrad, I started teaching Mexican folklore to 10 girls as a hobby because I’ve been dancing folklore my whole life. It was just a hobby and super fun and before we knew it, it grew into a huge organization and I had a lot of community support and now we have 217 students.”

Q: What do you enjoy the most about teaching?

A: “My students, their stories, how exciting it is for me to see them get their first job, transfer, go to graduate school and become parents. It feels good to be part of that process.”

Andre Lee, computer instructor

Q: Why did you choose to continue your teaching career at EC?

A: “I think EC has been a really critical staple in the workforce development in the South Bay as well as an academic stepping stone; that’s very important. Specially, if you look at the way the economy has been, for students to be able to get to improve their economic opportunity at a reasonable cost is really important and EC has a reputation for having strong academics.”

Q: What is your focus in teaching?

A: “I think it’s important for me to let students know that they can achieve their goals and I think they really need to have that confidence in themselves; but also importantly, (make sure) they understand that they have to take the initiative to pursue academic excellence. We’re a resource for them but they need to be able to reach down inside themselves and find where their connection is in academia.”